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what is wrong with todays kids?

i know im no perfect kid, but im looking around at the people in my generation and some of the younger ones, and i just cant believe what i see.

i know a number of people who at 21, have no job or work less than 20 hours a week, have no car or liscence, no career or life goals, no money in the bank, beg off everyone they know cause no one seems to say no, and they seem to think that their life couldnt be better.

or like the TSA middle and high school confrence i went to judge last week, there were a number of kids who were sent home for throwing tv remotes, chairs, suitcases, other peoples projects, and numerous other item off the balconies above the 5th floor at a hotel their parents paid $300+ for the two days they were there.

or the boyfriend my girlfriends sister just had. he got kicked out of his house, so her parents took him in cause he had absolutely no where else to go. only asked that he have a job and follow their few rules, only asked for $75 a week in rent. within a month he was kicked out cause it was "too hard" for him to keep his job at mcdonalds cause he "didnt like the way his boss treated him" and then lied about being fired, and then thought it would be ok as a minor to bring alcohol into the house he was gratiously allowed to stay in. they kicked him out but let him still come around, so he thought it would be fine to go sleep around with other girls.

i can go on and on with more examples, as im sure many of you can with what youve seen, these were just a few of what i recently saw.
i know there are tons of good kids out there and im in college with quiet a few of them. but i dont ever remember kids being this bad when i was younger. and it seems as i get older it gets worse with each generation.

i sure hope this trend doesnt continue or we are heading towards a very grimm future when these people become the labourers that get to take care of your generation as you age.

Well, if it's any consolation to you, complaining about the younger generation goes back a long ways. We have written records from the early Greeks that lament the characteristics of the youth - lazy, low morals, etc. But every generation grows up and about the same percentage turn into good, productive citizens.

For every youth that we shake our heads at, there are youths that are bright, driven, ambitious, and polite. Those just don't get any press. Look at the applications to the major universities. Those kids are waaaay beyond what the kids were in my time. They have to have a 4.0+ average - and have taken AP courses, they have to have done public service, and they have to be outstanding in some way (maybe won some awards). If they were around when I applied to college, I wouldn't have gotten in.

No, just like in the past, "these are the best of times, these are the worst of times".

Mike

["The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

Attributed to SOCRATES by Plato, according to William L.Patty and Louise S. Johnson, Personality and Adjustment, p. 277(1953)."]

[And another:

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint" (Hesiod, 8th century BC).]

Last edited by Mike Henderson; 04-24-2012 at 9:11 PM.

Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

I guess it depends on where you are. Our local 3 high schools are still turning out graduates that go to a 4 year college at the rate of 90+%, and with a few exceptions that moved back home those that we know were somehow all able to find good jobs. One friend's oldest graduates next month and is off to law school.

Sammamish, WA

Epilog Legend 24TT 45W, had a sign business for 17 years, now just doing laser work on the side.

"One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop." G. Weilacher

Curtis, it's probably a fairly complex issue with no single reason, but rather many different reasons that all have the same end result.

Since this is a woodworking forum, I'll add my opinion from that angle. I think the gutting of trades out of schools is partially responsible. Kids, good, bad, and in between, used to all share the space of trades. Also if you weren't the sharpest knife in the drawer, you always had a place to go, to one of the trades. Now, where do all the kids go? Where do the kids go that love to make and build things with their hands, that struggle memorizing facts from the 1600's they might be learning in history class? Where do the kids go that are great with math but love making things? Where do the kids go that are troubled kids doing poorly in school?

The answer? No where. There is no place for them. So they get shoved into this never never land and they get "lost" while growing up. If you are one of those kids that might do great in a trade, but you have no one in school telling you it might be a good option for you, what's going to happen? You'll probably just flounder through life until you fall into something that you can lve with.

I'm not an old guy yet, I'm in my 40's, but I grew up in a middle class neighborhood and I can honestly say that I can't think of a single friend or neighbor kid that didn't have at least one job at 16 years old. Everyone worked. Not because we had to, but because it's who we were and what we were taught was the right thing to do. Most of those blue collar kids ended up being electricians, machinists, plumbers, carpenters, etc.

You just don't see that any more these days and I blame it on the trades being ripped out of the schools as a big part of the puzzle.

I'm a parent, but I'm older than most of the other parents at my boy's school by nearly 15 years.

The problem with kids these days is their parents. There doesn't seem to be any room for kids to sort things out, on their own.
It's either constant interference, or complete indifference. That's in a small school with parents that pay for tuition.

In the local public schools it's three straight generations of hopeless... academic achievement is derided.
It is unfortunate that in so many cases, geography (or zipcode) determines your destiny in education.

Too many believe that a security net will always provide for them, and exert no effort to improve.

Mike, thanks for putting it into perspective. There are different challenges for each generation. I used to think that my kids had it easy compared to my generation. They are raising kids of their own now, and I wonder how they manage. Quite well actually.

Most of those blue collar kids ended up being electricians, machinists, plumbers, carpenters, etc.

You just don't see that any more these days and I blame it on the trades being ripped out of the schools as a big part of the puzzle.[/QUOTE]

according to the local papers in this neck of the woods, the machine shops are begging for working men and women to do machining, not all machine shops use CNC , why don't the companies teach the foreign people how to work at blue collar jobs

Attributed to Socrates by Plato (469–399 B.C.):
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

It's been going downhill ever since the first teenager arrived I think.

yes, there have always been and will always be good and bad kids. (and adults ) But, one change I see is the disconnect between children and society. there seems to be a lack of real, personal relationships. Lots of "friends" but technology has created a world where two people sit across a table from each other and text instead of talk. I work in a medical office and cannot get teens or preteens to answer simple questions for texting while I am trying to examine or understand their ailments.

Secondly, why work when things are given to you? I went out at age 13 to find a job after school because I wanted to have certain luxuries my parents could not and should not have bought for me. Now parents can't wait to buy phones,computers, even cars with no contribution from the child. (no skin in the game).

Last, and I am feeling better now, thanks for letting me vent, it is the parent's responsibility to demand (and deserve ) respect. Last week I had a teen in the office for a broken bone. The grand-father and mother both came along to try and console him since he wouldn't be able to play baseball. Her called the grand-father an a**h**e and mother a b***h. They apologized for him and made excuses for his behavior, but NEVER corrected him at all. In the end he got a new phone to make up for his self-inflicted trauma.

My principal friends bemoan the lack of discipline in the home and they are prohibited from using corporal punishment at school. I hope we are not really going down hill as fast as it seems, but I think some folks need a good old fashioned trip to the woodshed for a refresher course. After that maybe they should take their kids there too.

I remember an Andy Griffith show where the new kid in town tried to teach Opie how to manipulate his father into giving him more allowance without chores. we as watchers of the show could see how this boy twisted his father around his finger. God grant to us perspective to see clearly!

Lastly (and i mean it this time) remember our children need us to be parents, they have friends. Friendship with parents can come when they have the maturity.
Dad was right, sometimes "I said so" is sufficient reason.

Next, we have now a second generation that has been taught that they are merely a product of millions of years of natural selection, an animal, advanced, but an animal. Should we be surprised if they act like one?

Next, we have now a second generation that has been taught that they are merely a product of millions of years of natural selection, an animal, advanced, but an animal. Should we be surprised if they act like one?

It is unlikely that teaching people the truth will cause them to act poorly.

Mike

Last edited by Mike Henderson; 04-25-2012 at 9:23 AM.

Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.